Cool vs. Not Cool Procedure

Cool vs. Not Cool Procedure

The cool versus not cool procedure is a well-known method used by Autism Partnership and Autism Partnership Foundation for teaching basic to moderate-level social behaviors. It's widely discussed, trained, and implemented across the world.

• It is effective for teaching social skills, language, and reducing problem behaviors.

Social Discrimination Program

The cool versus not cool procedure is a social discrimination program that differentiates between appropriate (cool) and inappropriate (not cool) behaviors. The core focus is on teaching various social skills.

• The terms "cool" and "not cool" were originally used by Rick Schroeder, the creator of this procedure in the 1990s.
• The specific words can be adapted based on regional lingo (e.g., "wicked" vs. "not wicked" in Boston).
• The procedure emphasizes objective and observable behavior change rather than mentalistic changes.

Applications Beyond Social Skills

While primarily known as a social skills program, the cool versus not cool procedure can be applied to teach various behaviors:

• Language: Articulation (mumbled vs. not mumbled, talking speed)
• Stereotypic Behavior: Reducing hand-picking or hand-flapping
• School Behaviors: Sitting appropriately, raising hands
• Reduction of Aggression or Self-Injurious Behavior (SIB)

Video Examples

Social Skills Group

Kathleen demonstrates appropriate and inappropriate sharing behaviors in a social skills group. The students participate by identifying whether the behaviors are cool or not cool.

• The session incorporates a reinforcement system using a level system.
• The students are actively involved in the discrimination process.

Sleeping Game

The sleeping game involves students lying down and pretending to sleep while a teacher throws a stuffed animal. When the teacher makes an animal sound (e.g., "woof"), the students get up to find the animal.

• Jeremy and Christine use the cool versus not cool procedure to teach the steps of the game and reduce inappropriate behaviors like rolling around or bumping into each other.
• Jeremy models the appropriate behavior (lying still and waiting for the sound) and contrasts it with the inappropriate behaviors.

One-to-One Instruction

Carrie and Rick demonstrate the cool versus not cool procedure with one child using cards labeled "cool" and "not cool." Rick models behaviors while reading a book, and the child identifies whether Rick's actions are cool or not cool.

• Rick asks the child to explain why the behavior is cool or not cool.
• He shapes the child's responses, accepting and building upon the child's initial answers.

Saying Cool vs. Silly Things

Jeremy and Julie teach Alex the difference between saying cool things (relevant to the conversation) and silly things (inappropriate words).

• Jeremy models examples of cool and silly language.
• Alex identifies whether Jeremy's statements are cool or silly.
• The activity aims to replace unwanted behavior (saying "poop") with appropriate communication.
• Clear signals ("action" and "cut") are used to indicate the start and end of each demonstration.
• Jeremy emphasizes the social consequences of saying silly things.

Cool Eyes vs. Not Cool Eyes

Jeremy teaches a child about appropriate (cool) and inappropriate (not cool) eye contact.

• Jeremy demonstrates cool eyes (appropriate eye contact) and not cool eyes (exaggerated, wide eyes).
• The child watches Jeremy play with dinosaurs and identifies whether his eyes are cool or not cool.
• The child then role-plays using cool eyes.

Key Points

• Clear signals are used to cue the learner.
• The child provides reasons for their judgment (cool or not cool).
• The learner role-plays the behavior, demonstrating the skill.

Implementing the Cool vs. Not Cool Procedure

Here are the steps for implementing the cool versus not cool procedure as an RBT:

1. Determine the Skill: Collaboration with BCBA, defining target skill, task analysis of steps involved in skill.
2. Teacher Demonstrates: Performing the behavior in front of the child. Using a clear signal/cue.
   • The teacher demonstrates both the cool (appropriate) and not cool (inappropriate) ways of performing the behavior.
   • Clinical practice involves tailoring the number of cool versus not cool demonstrations based on the learner's needs with randomized order instead of fixed 2 cool, 2 not cool originally used in research.
   • Cool demonstrations display all steps of the task analysis.
   • Not cool demonstrations should mirror the student's behavior in their natural environment.
3. Student Rates the Demonstration: After each demonstration, the student identifies whether it was cool or not cool.
   • Students can respond verbally (cool/not cool) or nonverbally (thumbs up/down, cards with happy/sad faces).
   • Provide reinforcement as appropriate
4. Ask Why: After receiving an answer ask why the demonstration was cool or not cool to ensure that the learner is making the correct connections.
5. Repeat: The teacher repeats the cool and not cool demonstrations as needed.
6. Student Role-Plays: The student role-plays the behavior the cool way only.
   • Feedback on the role play includes general feedback and specific feedback (what they did well and what they need to improve).
   • The student should practice until they can demonstrate the skill 100% correctly.

Managing Multiple Participants

• When working with one student and two teachers, ensure the student knows who to watch.
• In social skills groups, have the teacher(s) demonstrate, indicating who the group should watch.
• After the role-play, use choral responding (thumbs up/down) to assess understanding, then ask specific students to explain why.
• Ensure every student who needs to demonstrate the skill has a chance to practice.

Common Misuse

A common misuse is turning the procedure into a question-answering task without the critical elements of teacher demonstration and learner role-play. The procedure should be more than just spewing verbal behavior.

Research and History

The cool versus not cool procedure began as a clinical procedure in 1999 and was integrated into comprehensive programming. It's a part of the teaching interaction procedure. The first empirical investigation was done in 2012.

Key Findings from Research

• The initial study focused only on teacher demonstration, and 50% of skills reached mastery criteria.
• Adding a role-play component increased the percentage of skills reaching mastery to 87.5%.
• The need for systematic fading strategies was identified to address maintenance issues.

Example Graph

• Sessions are on the x axis.

• Percentage correct is on the y axis.

• Skills include interrupting, changing the game, and appropriate greetings.

• Adding role play in skill 3 created significant improvement

Subsequent Studies

• The second study focused on teaching social communication skills.
• The third study focused on teaching social interaction skills.
• Angel's study in Hong Kong demonstrated the procedure's effectiveness in a group setting.

The research consistently shows the procedure's effectiveness when implemented well.

• Compared to social stories, the cool versus not cool procedure is more effective.

• Studies have also shown that this procedure works in group settings for teaching joint attention, communication, and the rules to games.

The cool versus not cool procedure is an easy procedure to implement and can be effectively implemented by registered behavior technicians as part of comprehensive behavioral intervention.